We had an appointment at River States Truck and Trailer, a Freightliner dealer and authorized repair center for the chassis on Nessie. We have developed a small list of concerns, and since River States is just 17 miles east of the park we're staying in (in Roberts, Wisconsin), we made an appointment for this morning at 9 am to have a go at the list., and so we drove Nessie into Wisconsin.
After checking in, we decided to go to the drivers lounge to wait, since the sign on the door told us that we would be safe there....
A few hours and $225 later, we know that the charging system is working and that the tire pressure in all 8 tires is good. I'm in the wrong line of work...
There is a gauge in Nessie's electrical compartment that shows the status of both the chassis batteries and the coach batteries. The coach batteries supply all the interior lights and such, while the chassis batteries start the engine. Well, the gauge has been showing 10.8 volts for the chassis and 12.2 volts for the coach batteries. 10.8 seems very low, so I asked Freightliner to check out the system. They have, and have pronounced the charging system OK, so now i have to return to the manufacturer and get them to check out the gauge.
Nessie's tires require 130 psi, and I don't have a gauge that will go that high. So I asked Freightliner to check and set the pressure. They found the drive tires to be 35 pounds low! That's like 27% low!
While we were licking our wounds from that episode, we decided to slide into a Wisconsin cheese store for a bite of lunch.
After a great lunch of a Hot and Hardy Grilled Cheese Sandwich:
with Jalapeño peppers and Pepper Jack cheese, and a BLT with White Cheddar:
Sufficiently stuffed, we waddled inside to buy yet more Wisconsin cheese for later, and then set about finding someplace in the area to balance Nessie's tires, one of the concerns we have had. 2 hours later, after waiting at the local TA Truck stop service dept, we learned that both front tires are perfectly balanced, and that the vibration I feel is from an alignment problem, probably "toe in/out". Well, I can't tell you how overjoyed I was to hear that. We've owned Nessie for a month and find out (after spending $65 to balance two tires) that the problem lies elsewhere. Now to find out what the warranty says about alignment. I think I know already....
Back to the RV park at about 5, after a frustrating day. Then Donna and I enjoyed dinner with AL and UB and ran back to the rv. We're too old for all this runnin' around!
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